Press

2024

IEEE International Conference on Reconfigurable Mechanisms and Robots (ReMAR) Best Paper Award “Compliant Spherical Joint Design for Reconfiguration of Variable Topology Truss” by Hyeungyu Yoon, Jangho Bae, Haorui Li, TaeWon Seo, and Mark Yim

Congrats to ModLab postdoc Jangho Bae and MS student Haorui Li, as well as our collaborators Hyeungyu Yoon and Professor TaeWon Seo from Hanyang University!

2022

IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft): April 7, Best Student Paper Award, “Multimodal Proximity and Visuotactile Sensing for a Selectively Transmissive Soft Membrane” by Jessica Yin, Gregory M. Campbell, James Pikul, and Mark Yim

Congrats to ModLab PhD students Jessica Yin and Greg Campbell!

(Photo is missing Mark)

See Jessica’s talk on Youtube here.

2021

IEEE Spectrum: January 5th, Robots Made of Ice Could Build and Repair Themselves on Other Planets

2020

TechXplore: February 25th: Modboat: A low-cost aquatic robot with a single motor

Knowable Magazine: February 5th, Q&A — Roboticist Mark Yim: Robots designed to self-construct

2019

Engadget: July 23rd, Researchers develop modular bots that combine to form a single flexible machine

2018

The New Stack: March 15th, These Modular Drones Self Assemble To Build Cooperative Structures in Mid-Air

DroneBelow: March 13th, These Modular Drones Can Join Forces to Create Flying Platforms

Discovery Canada, Daily Planet: March 12th, These Flying Robots Stick Together

El Espanol: February 17th, Drones autonomos capaces de formar un ejambre para trabajar conjuntamente

Focus: January 27th, L’armarta dei droni che si assemblano in volo

INTERESTING ENGINEERING: January 19th, These Robots Can Assemble in Midair

Microsiervos: January 15th, Drones autonomos que se unen en pleno vuelo para realizar tareas cooperativas

QUARTZ: January 13th, These flying robots can self-assemble in flight

2017

Bitcraze: November 27th, ModQuad – Self-Assemble Flying Structures

Bitcraze: November 13th, A Flying Gripper Based on Cuboid Modular Robots

2016

IEEE Spectrum: May 18thSpiral Zipper Creates Robot Arm Out of a Strip of Plastic

2015

IEEE SSRR: October 19thIEEE Safety, Security and Rescue Robotics 2015 Finalist for Best Paper
AHS International: May, Winners of AHS International 3rd Annual MAV Student Challenge

2014

3DPrint.com: December 30th, Occam’s Razor Applied to New 3D Printed UAV Jimmy Paulo
Science News: September 23rd, Hybrid robot merges flier with two snakelike machines
IEEE RAS: June, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2014 Best Automation Paper Award

2013

The Atlantic: “Imagine an Aircraft Carrier Made Out of … Robots,” Megan Garber, Feb. 27 2013
Engadget: February 27, UPenn robots spring into action, save wooden hero (video) 
Phys.org: February 12, Swimming-pool ships make waves in modular robotics (w/ Video)
Gizmodo: February 11, Floating Swarm Bots Form Emergency Bridges, Runways, and Islands
IEEE Spectrum Automaton: February 11, Floating Robotic Shipping Containers Team Up to Create Islands and Runways
The Daily Pennsylvanian: February 3, Engineers design boat robots in Pottruck pool
Geekosystem: February 11, Hive-Minded Robots Now In the Water

2012

ASME.org: November, Modular Robotics: The Next Generation
Fox 29 News (USA): March 19, Celebrating the Philadelphia Science Festival,

2011

NewScientist MacGregor Campbell, “Robot builds its own body from sprayable foam,” Issue 2834, Oct. 19, 2011
NewScientist, Sandra Upson, “Go reconfigure: Machines that become whatever you want,” Issue 2808, April 19, 2011

2010

Interaktywnie Translated from Polish “Inspector Gadget Terminator and one that is a new invention from DARPA” Feb. 25, 2010

2009

New York Times: A Modular Robot That Puts Itself Back Together Again, Online Interactive & News Paper Article
The Gadget Show: Ortis Deley meets an awesome modular robot that can rebuild itself if it gets broken, Video
Deutschlandradio (German National Radio): Translated from German: The self-transformation of
machines, Modular robot repairs itself
,€ September 10, 4:50PM, 2009
TV5 Quebec, Canada: Avenirs Possibles, September 25, 2009
Communications of the ACM “Shape-shifting material suggests morphable hardware” July 17, 2009

2008

Discover Magazine: Top 100 Stories of 2008 #81: Smart-Matter Robots Reassemble Themselves, Magazine Article
Slashdot: Hardware Self-Healing Robots of Doom From UPenn, Online (Front Page)
Membrana:Translated from Russian: The pieces of the robot find each other after the explosion, October 20, 2008
ETNews:Translated from Korean: [Global Report] public eye level skills tailored to meet future, about CKBot at NextFest, October 12, 2008
Robot Watch: Translated from Japanese: International Conference on Robotics “ICRA 2008” report local competition, Noriko Kageki, May 30, 2008
New Scientist: Shape-shifting robots take form, Jeff Hecht, magazine Issue 2653, April 25, 2008
Wired News “Robot Rebuilds Itself From Scattered Pieces”, Ryan Singel Sep 27, 2008